The Effect of the Digital Economy on the Employment Structure in Uzbekistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51699/cajitmf.v7i2.1191Keywords:
Digital Economy, Employment, Employment StructureAbstract
This study assesses the impact of the development of the digital economy on regional
employment and economic activity in Uzbekistan using panel data. The analysis is based on a
dataset compiled for 14 regions between 2010 and 2024. To determine the level of the digital
economy, the indicators of internet subscribers (per 100 inhabitants), the number of mobile base
stations and mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 inhabitants) are combined and a composite
Digital_Index is created through principal component analysis (PCA). This index is used as a
generalized measure of the level of digital infrastructure and digital connectivity.
The empirical assessment uses a regional fixed effects model (FE) and year effects, with standard
errors clustered by region. The model includes the level of urbanization and GDP per capita (log
form) as control variables. The results show that the Digital_Index has a positive and statistically
significant relationship with the level of employment. Digital development also has a significant
positive impact on the size of the construction sector, while the results in the agricultural sector are
relatively mixed, with GDP per capita in some cases being negative and significant.
The study findings highlight that expanding digital infrastructure across regions can be an
important factor in increasing employment and real sector activity. The results have
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Copyright (c) 2026 Bakhtiyor Sobirov
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